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Higher
Cathedral Spire
Yosemite
National Park
Lower
Cathedral Spire
Yosemite
National Park
Lunch Ledge
Yosemite
National Park |
Leonard's service on the board of directors
of the Sierra Club spanned the years 1938-1972. In 1973 he received
the Sierra Club's John Muir award, which is the organization's highest
award. This annual award honors a distinguished record of leadership in
national or international conservation causes such as to continue John
Muir's work of preservation and establishment of parks and wilderness.
The award is considered the most prestigious honor after that of Honorary
President, which was also bestowed upon him. All winners of this
award become lifetime members of the Sierra Club. In 1932, Leonard
formed the Cragmont Climbing Club (later the Rock Climbing Section of the
San Francisco Bay Chapter) to hone techniques on Berkeley's Cragmont Rock
and other local sites. The group eventually developed strategies that
would change the sport forever, opening up more summits to more people,
more safely, than ever before. Some of the techniques he pioneered
are described below.
The Dynamic Belay
Before the 1930s, climbers just hoped they wouldn't fall. If a person
fell, the belayer (a companion holding the safety rope) would "lock down,"
or grab the rope tightly, stopping the climber's downward motion at all
costs. This "static belay" transferred the force of the fall to the
equipment, a dangerous proposition since the hemp ropes used at the time
were weaker than today's nylon ropes, and more prone to break under
stress. To address this problem, Leonard introduced the "dynamic belay," a
method in which the belayer allows some of the rope to slide out of his or
her hands, reducing the shock of the fall and creating a softer "landing"
for the climber.
The Carabiner Technique
Rappelling a mountain can be an exhilarating way to descend, but in the
early days it was more often an awkward, painful experience. Climbers
wrapped the ropes around their bodies, a friction-intensive method that
was difficult to control. The Rock Climbing Section minimized rope burn
while rappelling (then called "roping down") by feeding the rope through a
carabiner, a metal link attached to their gear.
The Expansion Knee or Human Piton
Early climbers made their way up to the summit by following the cracks in
the mountain. These openings in the rock were an ideal place to hammer in
"pitons," spikes or pegs used for safety and sometimes support. But early
pitons were too small to anchor well in larger cracks. In 1940, Sierra
Club member Art Argiewicz began using his own body as the anchor, wedging
his knee and other appendages into the openings. This technique became
known as the "expansion knee" (for the way the human knee expands when
bent) or the "human piton."
Some of Leonard's noted climbing
accomplishments are listed below:
1934 - Higher Cathedral Spire (Eichorn, Richard
M. Leonard, Robinson). The ascent of the Cathedral
Spires marked the first use of pitons in the Sierra
Nevada.
1934 - Lower Cathedral Spire
(Eichorn, Leonard, Robinson)
1935 - Northwest face of Lower Cathedral Rock (Doris
Leonard,
Leonard, Robinson). Of this climb, Richard
M. Leonard wrote, "The problem consists in working out
from under a massive overhang on a 70-degree face 1,100 feet
above the valley floor. Although the difficult portion is
only 150 feet high, the piton technique is as intricate as
anything yet accomplished by our group."
1940-Leaning Chimney (Kenneth D. Adam, Brower, Morgan
Harris,
Leonard, Carl Rosberg)
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Sierra Club
Bulletin Vol. 19, No. 3, pg. 99-100
Mountaineering Notes by
Richard M. Leonard
Yosemite Valley -
"Rock climbing possibilities of the highest order can be
found in this accessible and beautiful location. With this in
mind, the first annual trip of the Rock Climbing Section of the
San Francisco Bay Chapter was scheduled over Labor Day holidays,
Sept. 2, 3, and 4, 1933. Seventeen climbers participated and
nine other members and friends of the club joined us at our
campfires. Some unusually fine climbing was accomplished.
Kenneth May, Elliott Sawyer, and Jean Husted traversed Mt. Starr
King, then bivouacked high on the slopes of Mt. Clark. The next
morning they made a very fine attempt up on the unclimbed and
very difficult Northwest aręte; but at 11:30 they were obliged
to stop because of the necessity of being home by the following
morning. Herbert B. Blanks took Mary Vaughan, a girl who had
never climbed before, on the ascent of the Lower Cathedral Rock
via the narrow gully between it and the Middle Cathedral
Rock. It is a very interesting and beautiful climb and is rather
difficult. Hervey Voge, Dick Johnson, and Jack Reigelhuth made
the ascent of Half Dome from Mirror Lake, finding it
disappointingly easy (for them). However, it can be recommended
as a trip that offers some of the most magnificent views in the
valley. Marjory Bridge, Lewis Clark, and William Horsfall made a
fine climb out of Illilouette Cańon opposite the fall. They
rated the climb as very difficult, requiring almost constant
careful belaying and several shoulder-stands.
On Saturday, Jules Eichorn, Hervey Voge, Bestor
Robinson, and Richard Leonard, on two separate ropes, made what
is probably the first serious attempt on Washington Column from
below. The route started at the base of the chimney between the
Column and the Royal Arches and kept 100 to 200 feet to the
southeast upon the face of the Column. We were not able to start
until 2:30 P.M. and it took three hours to accomplish the first
thousand feet of climbing. As the time was short, we had to
abandon the attempt and rope on down. On Monday, September 4th,
we returned and covered the same thousand feet in two
hours. However, the next crack required over an hour to climb
only fifty feet. Since we had to be down early, in order to get
back to town in time, we again had to abandon the attempt. This
climb should not be tried except by those who thoroughly
understand the proper technique." This was the trip report
for the first technical rock-climbing route in Yosemite
Valley. This climb on Washington Column later became known as
Lunch Ledge. The 1956 Climber's Guide to the High Sierra
described "the Lunch Ledge and the routes above it as
undoubtedly the most popular roped climbs in the
valley." | |
